Different types of fabrics and apparel have been designed for support and moisture management in critical anatomical areas during, for example, athletic activities. One design includes an exercise short having a ventilating portion of light weight, permeable, open mesh, woven fabric made from cotton, polyester, nylon, and other fibers, allowing for rapid heat transfer from the pelvic region. Another athletic compression short includes a crotch panel formed of stretchable elastic, knit fabric in which the front of the crotch panel has an open mesh warp knit construction and the rear of the crotch panel has a plain warp knit construction. These types of athletic apparel are not particularly suitable for wear during very active sports in which an athlete may perspire excessively and create wet, perspiration-soaked clothing, which no longer offers the proper support to the skin and muscles of the wearer.
In addition, cushioning support has been designed into various types of athletic apparel. For example, cyclists often wear specially designed cycling pants that have cushioning between the seat and the cyclist, that are designed for minimum chaffing of the cyclist and minimum wind resistance, and that are constructed for durability. One type of conventional cycling shorts generally have a four, six, or eight panel construction, elastic ribbing around the bottom of the leg openings and the waist, and additional padding disposed in the buttocks and crotch regions termed a “chamois.” The chamois is formed from various materials which are stitched or laminated together into layers to provide increased protection to the cyclist. Such materials and layered constructions are designed to distribute and dissipate the pressure, shock, and vibration transmitted by a bicycle seat. Such cycling pants typically include a padded liner, or crotch protector, which is located in the crotch and buttocks regions, which transfers the force exerted on a rider's crotch by a bicycle seat laterally away from the perineal area to the lower buttocks. In addition, multi-ply chamois designs can be cut to fit between the legs of a cyclist.
Other conventional cycling shorts include various seat pad materials and constructions to add cushioning support to a cyclist's seat area. For example, one seat pad in cycling shorts has a fluid layer. Another cycling shorts design includes rear and frontal pockets containing resilient pads. In another design, a single-piece chamois of seam-free fabric is heat-formed to impart a generally form-fitting shape to the cycling shorts seat area. In yet another design, an anatomical seat pad has “break lines” positioned to conform a seat pad liner to the anatomical profile of a cyclist positioned in a riding position on a bicycle. However, such approaches to padding have not combined moisture-management materials to remove moisture away from a cyclist's skin in the seat area. As a result, moisture can build up inside conventional cycling shorts, increasing the risk of chaffing and/or blisters to a cyclist.
Other materials have been used in an attempt to provide cushioning support in cycling shorts. One such material is polyurethane foam, layers of which can be combined to form a padding. For example, one cycling shorts construction combines a two-layer chamois and layers of polyurethane foam, terry cloth, or fleece. Another material used in cycling shorts is a synthetic suede material. A particular cycling shorts design includes a heat-formed chamois made from a laminate of synthetic leather and a knitted polyester fleece which are bonded together by an adhesive. However, the stiffness of foam padding layers and/or a multi-ply construction are not conducive to providing a comfortable, anatomically-conforming fit. Moreover, when such conventional materials are heat molded together, an anatomically conforming chamois is achieved for the one position for which the chamois is molded. When the cyclist moves to other positions, however, the material provides less than a conforming fit.
Thus, there is a need to provide a protective fabric system that combines moisture-managing fabrics and fabrics that provide cushioning to selected parts of a wearer's body.
There is also a need to provide articles of apparel adapted for removing moisture from skin, reducing contact stress, and decreasing abrasion in selected regions, for example, in athletic apparel.
In particular, there is a need to provide a cycling bib-short combination that manages moisture in selected regions, provides cushioning, and that is flexible, form-fitting, and comfortable during use.